Special Ed teacher moving from SF Bay Area. (Pittsburgh, Scranton: transfer, college)

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by xdv8

Isn't there a weather thread or did we want to ruin this one per usual?

^ Snarkiness aside I concur. Sorry! We can redirect once the OP pops back in to ask more questions!

[cirrusly]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

However, I'm sorry, but I have no idea how anyone can say the weather of a city where it's regularly over 100 for 3 months is better than Pittsburgh.

I unfortunately suffer from SAD, so I welcome the sunshine in Austin for sure! Even when it's 100 degrees. In fact, I took a walk every day for lunch this summer and can officially say I'm acclimated

[cirrusly]

Originally Posted by Locali

What a fantastic and informative post. Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. I’d like to continue to be in touch if that’s ok. I was talking with a good friend who lives in Long Beach and he said that he remembered Pittsburgh being up and coming since 2008. He visited it and loved it and said he’d never seen so many hot guys in his life maybe we will pull a Will and Grace and move there together. Thanks again, I just read all these replies well past my bedtime so I need to write in more detail another time. Also when I have more questions that come up! Thanks again for your time and thoughtfulness.

Feel free to send me a private message if you ever need to! I find keeping up with conversations on this site challenging at times, so that might help me keep track of things, but I'm always up for answering questions.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

You're very welcome! There's a lot of politically-oriented in-bickering and in-fighting on this sub-forum (and our moderator Yac loves to spank us! ). There's also still a LOT of helpful people who still contribute here, though.

Any direct comparisons between Pittsburgh and San Francisco? Goodjules has you covered.
Any direct comparisons between Pittsburgh and Austin? Cirrusly has you covered.
Any direct comparisons between Pittsburgh and Denver? Katarina Witt has you covered.
Any direct comparisons between Pittsburgh and Washington, DC? I can help!

Any insight into city neighborhoods? I can help. So can about ~3/4 of the other contributors on here.
Any insight into the suburbs? I can SOMEWHAT help. Others are much more informed about our suburban areas.

In terms of "hype" Pittsburgh is a step down from places like Nashville or Austin or Portland. We have a stagnant population (both city and overall metro area). Our economy is growing---albeit slowly. Our workforce is gentrifying/evolving more than anything as we continue to transition from blue-collar to white-collar, especially in the city. We consistently rank VERY well on most "Best of..." rankings for quality-of-life, but that's generally just because we fly just under the best on most metrics while some other "all star" cities flop horribly on one or two metrics that knock them down on these lists. In terms of socioeconomic diversity and opportunity whites tend to thrive here. Blacks? Not so much. Then again I've heard the same thing about San Francisco, which has a surprisingly tiny black population for such a large city.

I'm actually glad, though, that Pittsburgh isn't experiencing Austin-like growth. Given our rugged terrain there would be no room to widen I-376 beyond four lanes, and if we tried to add tens of thousands of more vehicles daily onto I-376 it would be a constant parking lot like the Bay Area. Otherwise? Traffic on other major arteries isn't all that bad.

Cost-of-living-wise rents and housing prices are GENERALLY reasonable across the city and metro area. As I alluded to there is a small nexus within the city proper in neighborhoods bordering Oakland and Downtown that have RAPIDLY gentrified since the 2000's (I live in one of them). That's not the norm for the city or metro area overall, though. If you want to live a "Sex and the City" lifestyle in a place like Lawrenceville, for example, you're going to be paying near-Brooklyn pricing for it. Otherwise Pittsburgh offers one of the best "bang-for-your-buck" factors in the Rust Belt (albeit I now think Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Detroit, St. Louis, Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Cincinnati all beat Pittsburgh on this front).

Thank you SCR, but my post about Denver was deleted. Someone didn't like it.

Originally Posted by erieguy

Right, not the only reason...and more people move away from the weather than coming to Pittsburgh because of it.

I’m sure the OP wants factual stats and real information about the weather before moving to Pittsburgh rather than personal opinions.

There are plenty of sites on the interwebs. I like this one:
https://weatherspark.com/m/19773/12/...-United-States

[Copanut]

Anyone mention the weather yet?

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Yeah, I find the complaining about how hard a winter here is to be highly overblown (minus the cloudiness). I'd much rather be outside in my business casual I need to wear for work when it's 30 instead of 90 any day. I too find doing any exercise outdoors unless it involves a pool when it's above the low 80s to generally be miserable as well.

Exactly!

[AustinExPat]

My wife and I divide our time between Austin and Pittsburgh, and I would add this to cirrusly's comparisons between the two cities.

It always seems to me that we enjoy the meals we prepare at home more in Pittsburgh than in Austin. The reason is that there is nothing in or around Austin that compares to Pittsburgh's Strip District. When we're in Pittsburgh I buy groceries in the Strip two or three times per week. In (my hometown) Austin, alas, I have a hard time finding olives with the pits still in!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by AustinExPat

My wife and I divide our time between Austin and Pittsburgh, and I would add this to cirrusly's comparisons between the two cities.

It always seems to me that we enjoy the meals we prepare at home more in Pittsburgh than in Austin. The reason is that there is nothing in or around Austin that compares to Pittsburgh's Strip District. When we're in Pittsburgh I buy groceries in the Strip two or three times per week. In (my hometown) Austin, alas, I have a hard time finding olives with the pits still in!

Penn Mac is a legend!

[Locali]

Oh wow. I have a lot to catch up on. You all have been thoughtful, honest and kind in your responses. I haven’t been to visit yet, but you’re all confirming what I’ve always heard about people who live in Pittsburgh .. very good things.

So, I don’t need comparisons between cities I don’t think. Its fun to read the personality of Pittsburgh as is. Cool people? Accepting? Less of a stressed out vibe? That’d be great. People here im the Bay Area are wonderful in real life, but there’s a ton road rage. Like really hostile and dangerous. I feel it too, and it’s not a healthy way to start the day.

Also, to get real. I’m single so it would be nice to be in an area that’s not all families but I’m not a 20 something recent college grad either, so ... a place that’s single friendly is a consideration. For reference, I only have a few friends who stayed in SF. Most moved out once they started families. SF is supposedly great for singles, but it’s not really. In my view, It’s a city of perpetual Peter Pans or people who are addicted to their jobs, or they travel so much that you never see each other , or they expect you to drop your job and travel with them. There’s also a very small town feel to it. And nobody wants to date someone who lives across a bridge, so it’s very segregated and small feeling in that respect. That’s not a huge factor, I think you can meet someone at any time or place, but it does contribute. Encountering people with a different mindset that’s not centered around achieving, conquering, working, all the time would be refreshing.

Yes, the weather was brought up.. the dark weather ... I could see the weather being a change for a Californian. I lived in London for quite a few years and also another part of Northern Europe. Dark weather does bother me. It didn’t matter so much in London because it was such a fun and vibrant city. And, I know you can’t compare Pittsburgh and London in any way, but I think that if there is enough buzz and friendly people, dark weather is tolerable. Lower cost of living helps considerably too.

I will have more time to think of questions as work winds down for holidays and as they arise. It’s hard to ask good ones when I don’t know the city at all! But, from what I read, there are a lot of pros to Pittsburgh. I also like the idea of living on the east coast. Most my family live in Europe now so that’s a lot closer. The 10 to 12 hour flights from the west coast to see family are brutal.

I need more time to read comments carefully, look at a map, do some internet searching, but thanks you all. And thanks to your moderator for making this a forum where people (like me) can ask questions that are totally uneducated about your city and not be internet shamed. Speaks well of your part of the world.

happy holidays all xx

[Locali]

Originally Posted by cirrusly

Feel free to send me a private message if you ever need to! I find keeping up with conversations on this site challenging at times, so that might help me keep track of things, but I'm always up for answering questions.

Yes, I’m getting lost too! Lots of information. Great information, but hard to keep track of. I need more time to read everything again when things are slower during the holidays so I’m not repeating the same questions. Thank you very much for the offer of DM.